Head to head · Girls' names
Jaylani vs Meredith
#470 vs #469 in 2025
Meredith is a whisker ahead (#469 vs #470 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Meredith is back after a long quiet spell, Jaylani is climbing the charts fast. On momentum, Jaylani has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Meredith leads 5 measures of 6; Jaylani leads 1.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1890s: Jaylani —, Meredith #1426 — Meredith higher
- 1900s: Jaylani —, Meredith #1400 — Meredith higher
- 1910s: Jaylani —, Meredith #924 — Meredith higher
- 1920s: Jaylani —, Meredith #770 — Meredith higher
- 1930s: Jaylani —, Meredith #607 — Meredith higher
- 1940s: Jaylani —, Meredith #443 — Meredith higher
- 1950s: Jaylani —, Meredith #539 — Meredith higher
- 1960s: Jaylani —, Meredith #541 — Meredith higher
- 1970s: Jaylani —, Meredith #178 — Meredith higher
- 1980s: Jaylani —, Meredith #149 — Meredith higher
- 1990s: Jaylani —, Meredith #232 — Meredith higher
- 2000s: Jaylani #7751, Meredith #362 — Meredith higher
- 2010s: Jaylani #2135, Meredith #586 — Meredith higher
- 2020s: Jaylani #711, Meredith #529 — Meredith higher
Meredith stood higher in every recorded decade — 14 of 14.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Jaylani | Meredith |
|---|---|---|
| 1890s | — | #1426 |
| 1900s | — | #1400 |
| 1910s | — | #924 |
| 1920s | — | #770 |
| 1930s | — | #607 |
| 1940s | — | #443 |
| 1950s | — | #539 |
| 1960s | — | #541 |
| 1970s | — | #178 |
| 1980s | — | #149 |
| 1990s | — | #232 |
| 2000s | #7751 | #362 |
| 2010s | #2135 | #586 |
| 2020s | #711 | #529 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Jaylani
Not established
No meaning has been established for Jaylani. What is documented is its arrival in United States birth records this century and its steady climb since. The -lani ending does carry meaning in the Hawaiian names it echoes — in Leilani and Kalani, lani is 'sky, heaven' — but there is no record showing Jaylani was built from that word, and it would be dishonest to hand you a translation the sources do not support.
Our story of Jaylani — where the record runs out
Some names arrive without papers. Jaylani came into American records recently and without an origin story attached, but it did not come from nowhere: it is made of pieces already in circulation, the Jay- that American parents have been building on for decades and the -lani that arrived in the mainland ear through Hawaiian names like Leilani.
Meredith
Not established
The second element is generally read as iudd, a lord, which is well attested in Welsh names. The first is not agreed: proposals include a word for great or splendor, and none is demonstrated. Great lord is the usual gloss and it is a reconstruction of half a name. Meredith is the English spelling of Maredudd, and the surname form is Meredydd or Bedward in various renderings; the given name in English use descends from the surname.
Maredudd → Meredydd → Meredith
How it traveled
A men's name crosses to women by a fairly reliable route: it becomes a surname, the surname gets used as a first name for boys, it sounds soft enough to be given to a girl once, and once it is common for girls it stops being given to boys entirely. Meredith is a textbook case, and the crossing happened in America between the nineteen-twenties and the nineteen-fifties.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Jaylani
jay-LAH-nee
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Some families say jay-LAY-nee instead; both are heard, so it is worth deciding early which one you want repeated back to you.
- Jay — The obvious informal short form, and a long-established standalone given name in its own right for both sexes.
- Lani — Taken from the back of the name; also used independently as a given name, especially in Hawaii.
- Laney — An informal reshaping of the middle and end of the name; also stands alone as a given name.
Meredith
MAIR-uh-dith
MAIR-uh-dith, three syllables, stress at the front, the middle reduced. Welsh Maredudd puts the weight on the middle syllable and ends in a sound English does not have, so the two versions are audibly different names.
- Merry — The front softened, which lands on an English word and is used knowingly.
- Edie — Built from the middle and the end, and a standing name of its own.
- Mer — The front clipped, short and used among friends rather than on paper.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Jaylani if you want…
- a name on the way upup 552 places on the charts in five years
- a name that feels very nowJaylani is climbing the charts fast
Choose Meredith if you want…
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 59% for Jaylani
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Jaylani
Strengths
- Every piece of it is already familiar to American ears, so it is usually pronounced correctly on first sight without coaching.
- Two ready-made short forms, Jay and Lani, both of which also work as names on their own.
- Clear three-beat rhythm with the stress in the middle — it carries well when called across a room.
To consider
- The spelling will need saying aloud. Jaelani, Jaylanie and Jailani are all plausible guesses from the sound, and the similar names Jelani and Leilani sit close enough to cause the occasional mix-up.
- This name's wave is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying it is a young child. That means no ready recognition from adults — but also no shortage of room, since she is unlikely to share it with anyone in her school.
- There is no settled meaning to offer when she asks, and she will ask. Some parents mind that; others find a name with an open answer easier to live with than one with a fixed translation.
Meredith
Strengths
- It has a documented thousand-year history as a Welsh princely name.
- Merry, Mer and Edie are three short forms in three quite different registers.
- Three syllables with a firm front stress, which carries a short surname well.
To consider
- In Wales this is a man's name, and Welsh speakers will read it that way whatever an American form says.
- The meaning is only half recoverable, so any gloss offered is a reconstruction.
- It is strongly associated with the middle of the last century in America.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Jaylani
59%chance Jaylani feels dated by 2040
Jaylani is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Meredith
30%chance Meredith feels dated by 2040
Meredith is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Jaylani and Meredith in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Jaylani and Meredith?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- The names with the most spellings
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Eight-letter names with presence
- Names ending in -th
- all guides
Where Jaylani and Meredith each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Jaylani or Meredith — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Jaylani or Meredith?
- Meredith, in 2025: Meredith ranked #469 with 656 babies; Jaylani ranked #470 with 654 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Jaylani or Meredith?
- Jaylani. Over the last five years Jaylani moved up 552 places; Meredith moved up 116 places.
- Which is the older name, Jaylani or Meredith?
- Jaylani entered the US charts in 2002; Meredith entered the US charts in 1895. On the American record, Meredith is the older name.
- How many people are named Jaylani and Meredith?
- About 3,800 people named Jaylani are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 72,000 people named Meredith are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Jaylanis or Merediths in the classroom?
- Jaylani will almost certainly be the only one in school. Meredith will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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